


Trick or Treat?

by Soph_Writes_118



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Firehouse 118 Family Feels (9-1-1 TV), First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Halloween, Idiots in Love, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27266086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soph_Writes_118/pseuds/Soph_Writes_118
Summary: The 118 are working the Halloween shift. On a full blue moon. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 55
Kudos: 341
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	1. The Pug-O-Ween Parade

**Author's Note:**

> A Halloween special! Set in a world without Covid, because it’s more fun that way.

Incredible cover artwork by the super-talented [Ro_Nordmann](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ro_Nordmann/pseuds/Ro_Nordmann) 😍

“Trick or Treat!”

Christopher bounced into the kitchen, a huge smile stretched across his face.

“Hey buddy, you’ve got that nailed!” Eddie grinned, leaning back against the counter. “Now you’d better get dressed, Buck’ll be here any minute.”

Chris turned and powered back to the bedroom as Eddie sipped his coffee and looked across at his abuela, who was watching him closely.

“Buck’s picking you up?”

“Yeah, we’re carpooling with Hen today. He made some excuse about it being more environmentally friendly, but I think it was just an excuse to see Chris in his Halloween costume before he went Trick-or-Treating for the first time.” Eddie smiled fondly. “Buck’s almost as excited about it as Christopher is.”

“He’s devoted to that boy,” his abuela commented, and Eddie darted a look at her, eyebrows drawing together. He recognised the tone that said his grandmother was trying to be subtle, even if she was fooling nobody.

“Yeah, he is,” Eddie said slowly, wondering if he was being drawn into a trap.

“It must be a comfort to have someone who knows you so well at work and at home.”

“Well Buck doesn’t exactly live with us.”

“Oh?” his grandmother said innocently. “So those aren’t his shoes,” she pointed to a pair of gleaming white trainers, one of Buck’s favourite pairs, on the shoe rack by the door, “and that’s not his jacket next to yours on the hook? And I don’t think either you or Christopher drink green tea, and yet there are two boxes of it in the cupboard.”

“Well Buck prefers it to coffee sometimes, he’s says it’s healthier. I think it tastes like drinking grass, but...” Eddie trailed off with a shrug.

“He has a lot more belongings here than any other guest.”

“Well Buck’s not really a guest...”

And there it was. The trap he’d been expecting, and he’d still managed to walk into it head first. Triumph lit up his grandmother’s face, and Eddie could have kicked himself.

“Well, I couldn’t have chosen anyone better for my grandson and my great-grandson,” she said. “If you don’t marry him, I might instead.”

“ _Abuela_ , Buck and I aren’t...”

Lost for words, Eddie shook his head and took another sip of coffee instead, trying to work out how he’d ended up having this particularly surreal conversation with his abuela in his kitchen about marrying his best friend.

“You know, Eddie, I would hate for you to deny yourself the happiness you deserve because you worry about what your parents might think.”

“I don’t need their approval anymore,” Eddie said, surprised at the truth of this statement as it left his lips. “I’d like it, but I don’t need it. I certainly didn’t have it when I moved to LA, but that hasn’t stopped me and Christopher from building a life here.”

“Yes, and with who?”

Eddie narrowed his eyes at her, but was spared having to answer by the doorbell. With no small measure of relief, he strode to the door and threw it open.

“Good morning, Buck.”  
Buck beamed at him, and it was like staring straight into the noonday sun.

“Happy Halloween! I don’t know about you, but I am psyched for today! Murderous crows, vampires, werewolves, bring it on!”

“You do know that we’re firefighters in LA and not vampire slayers in Sunnydale, don’t you?”

“Ah, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, didn’t they, Edmundo?”

“It’s more that I’ve been out of bed since dawn, because Christopher is literally bouncing off the walls about trick-or-treating. Whereas you probably rolled out of bed half an hour ago.”

“It takes more than half an hour to look this good.”

“Where you’re concerned, I doubt it.” Eddie realised he’d said more than he meant to by the flicker of surprise in Buck’s eyes, and hurriedly added, “I mean, you can tell you don’t sleep in the same house as an overexcited nine year-old, or you’d need your third coffee by now too.”

Buck clapped one hand to Eddie’s shoulder.

“And _that_ is why I brought coffee and bagels from that deli you like on York Boulevard. Got to get your strength up for today! It’s going to be a busy one, I can _feel_ it.”

Only Buck could be filled with joy at the thought of a chaotic Halloween shift. Eddie smiled to himself as his best friend’s gaze strayed past him and settled on his grandmother.

“Isobel! Looking as radiant as ever!”

“You suck up,” Eddie muttered, pretending to be disgusted, as Buck bounded across the room to kiss Isobel on the cheek.

“Ignore my grandson, he has no manners,” his grandmother chided. “And how many times do I have to tell you to call me abuela, Buck? You’re practically family too.”

Eddie didn’t miss the shy, pleased smile on Buck’s face. He still didn’t know the full story behind Buck and Maddie’s parents, but he knew enough to understand that Buck was constantly searching for a replacement family to pour all his love into. His open, giving heart was one of the very best things about him, and it made Eddie a little overly protective. So seeing that delighted smile on his best friend’s face made the teasing from his grandmother worth it.

“Dad, cover Buck’s eyes!” Chris’s voice floated to them down the hallway. “I don’t want him to see me until I’m ready!”

Eddie raised his eyebrows at Buck, who shrugged, grinning.

“Better give him what he wants,” he said, and fished his phone out of his pocket. “Abuela, can you film this for me? I want to watch it back later.”  
Isobel took the phone, and Buck’s instructions on how to work it, with an innocent smile that Eddie didn’t trust one bit.

“OK, Buck, close your eyes,” Eddie said, pitching his voice loud enough that Christopher would hear him as he stepped up close behind his best friend. As he folded his arms around Buck’s broad shoulders, hands lightly resting over his eyes, he felt Buck shift slightly, settling his back automatically against Eddie’s chest. They were standing practically flush against each other from chest to thighs, and Eddie’s heart thumped painfully against his ribs at Buck’s warmth and _closeness_. He couldn’t remember ever having a relationship with anyone where invading each other’s space like was so electrifying but also felt like second nature. But being this close was dangerous for Eddie’s self-control. With every breath he caught a drag of Buck’s aftershave and shampoo, and it made his head spin. How could such a regular, everyday scent leave him feeling so drunk with want and _need_?

Feeling Buck’s eyelashes flutter against his fingers, Eddie tilted his head forward so he could murmur into his ear.

“Eyes _closed_ , Buck.”

Did he imagine the hitch in Buck’s breath? Or the way he tensed, just slightly, like his nerves were also on fire at every point of contact between them? Eddie took a deep breath, fighting the urge to lean forward again and press his lips to Buck’s throat. His eyes landed on his abuela smirking at them across the room from behind the camera. Eddie flushed, suddenly very grateful that Buck’s vision was obscured.

“Are you ready?” Chris called from the hallway, breaking the spell and bringing Eddie back to himself.

“Ready!” Buck shouted back enthusiastically, and Christopher positioned himself in front of them in the living room.

“You can open them now.”

Eddie lifted his hands from Buck’s eyes, and Buck laughed with delight as he clapped eyes on Christopher’s costume.

Eddie had to admit, he was pretty proud of this outfit. Chris was wearing a striped blue and white t-shirt, and a pair of trousers that had grown too short for him and which Eddie had enjoyed taking scissors to way too much. A red bandana was tied around his head, a large tricorn hat balanced on top. He even carried a fake cutlass, and a bright green fake parrot balanced precariously on one shoulder. The only thing Eddie had insisted on were sneakers – his commitment to a costume did not stretch to letting his son wander the streets barefoot in the name of authenticity. Judging by his mile-wide smile, Christopher didn’t care.

“Oh my God, Chris, you look incredible!” Buck strode across the room to him, taking in the outfit from all angles. “A pirate, just like you said you were going to be when you grew up! Shiver me timbers!”

Eddie coughed and raised an eyebrow at him, fighting a laugh.

“What? That’s what all real pirates say,” Buck protested, and turned back to Chris. “Your dad wouldn’t understand because he’s not a pirate like us, Chris. We’ve been shipwrecked and everything!”

“Technically you were pier-wrecked. By a tsunami. I don’t think that’s happened to many pirates.”

“Which just makes us even more special,” Buck told him firmly. Then he crouched down beside Christopher, and put a hand on his shoulder. “So, what are we going to call your parrot, Captain Diaz?”

*

LA had finally shifted from eternal summer to something vaguely resembling Fall. As Buck edged his Jeep off the drive and headed for Hen and Karen’s, the golden light fell across the car in stripes, illuminating Buck in a soft glow that Eddie had to force himself to look away from. Had abuela put something in his coffee when he wasn’t looking? How was he suddenly so hyper-aware of Buck, cataloguing his every movement and expression? Or was it just that he had only just realised it, and he’d been doing it all along? Either way, it seemed that every vacant lot in his brain been signed away to Buck.

“Here,” Buck said, passing Eddie a brown paper bag and jolting him out of his daze. “Bagels. There’s coffee in the cup holder. Should still be hot enough, even though you prefer your coffee scalding hot.”

Eddie took the bag with a smile, his stomach turning somersaults. He shared out the food with Chris and they ate in contented silence, as Buck sang along to the radio completely off key, not seeming to care that the traffic was horrendous and they spent more time sitting still than moving.

As he chewed his bagel, Eddie wondered when they’d made this shift into something resembling domestic bliss. One minute Buck was glaring at him across the fire house gym with all the territorial bravado of the permanently insecure, and Eddie was regretting his decision to join the 118. The next, he was watching with his heart in his mouth as Buck descended the outside of a derailed train car to rescue his ex-girlfriend’s new fiancé. Somewhere along the way, Buck had intertwined his life with Eddie and Christopher’s. Somewhere along the way, a part of Eddie’s soul had detached itself from him and merged with Buck’s.

And it was effortless. His relationship with Shannon had been filled with love and passion, but it was stormy and unpredictable. They could never seem to marry up their thoughts and needs, to balance each other out. Eddie had learned to walk on eggshells, constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing, preferring to run away to a foreign country and march through gunfire rather than face up to a failing marriage.

But with Buck, there was never that struggle. Their friendship strengthened with each day that passed, enduring tsunamis and lawsuits and all the baggage they both carried with them. Buck brought out a lighter side of Eddie and eased the burden that never seemed to quite lift from his shoulders. There was no keeping score, no needling for an argument. Just Buck, with his ocean eyes and easy smile.

*

“Did I ever tell you you’re my hero, Mrs Wilson?” Hen said, massaging her wife’s shoulders as she stood behind her at the dining table.

“Go on,” Karen purred, as she applied name labels to the inside of three small pumpkin buckets.

“I mean, they say firefighters are heroes, but you’re taking four kids under the age of ten trick-or-treating...that’s a whole lot scarier than a fire...”

“Well, what can I say? Not all heroes wear turnout gear.” Karen grinned and tilted her head up to kiss Hen, then pushed her chair back so she could stand. “Besides, I can handle them. Harry knows I’ve got a direct line to Athena if he puts a toe out of line, and Christopher is such a sweetheart, he’s not going to be any trouble.”

“I’m so jealous,” Hen sighed. “You get to go trick-or-treating with our kids, and I get to share a ride with Buck and Eddie.”

“I think it’s cute,” Karen said, smirking. “You know, the three of you carpooling to work.”

Hen shot her an unimpressed look.

“You say ‘cute’, I say ‘third wheel’.”

“You didn’t have to accept the lift when Buck offered,” Karen pointed out, measuring small handfuls of sweets into each bucket.

“And what would I have said? ‘No thanks Buck, you and Eddie are unbearable enough at work already, I’d rather drive myself than have to watch you two making heart eyes at each other for an extra hour’?”

“I think they’re adorable.”

“You would. You don’t have to spend twelve hours watching them stare at each other when they think the other one isn’t looking. Thank God Chim and I have the ambulance to hide out in.”

“They’ve got to figure it out eventually, haven’t they?” Karen frowned.

“They’d better,” Hen laughed. “If they don’t get it together by Christmas Bobby’s going to win the pool running on them by default.”

The doorbell rang, and Hen sighed, resigned.

“The Buckley-Diazes are here.”

“They know you call them that?”

“Of course not.”

*

“I hope your two mugs of coffee for the day will be enough,” Josh said ominously, sweeping past Maddie in his Dracula costume, cape billowing.

“Two mugs of coffee is never enough!” she replied, one hand rubbing the bump now visible under her shirt. “Buck recommended herbal tea, but it doesn’t really hit the spot. I’m sick of chamomile already!” She glanced away from her screen and clocked his outfit, complete with plastic fangs, white face paint and two thin trickles of fake blood escaping from his lips. “Wow, you really went all out this year!”

“I wish I could say the same about you,” Josh replied, with a disparaging glance at Maddie, who shot him a mock-offended look.

“Hey, this dress is the only thing I have that’s comfortable. It’s black and I’m wearing a witch’s hat, what more do you want?”

“Commitment to fancy dress! Where’s your makeup, the fake nose or the warts?”

“Eww, no thanks. Besides, I’m pregnant, that means I get a free pass!” Maddie pulled a pair of headphones out of the bag by her feet and waved them at him. “But yes, I am prepared for this Halloween.”

“Are those to block out the 9-1-1 calls?” Josh quipped. Maddie pulled a face at him.

“Ha ha. They’re for the baby. So when I’m listening to all the gruesome calls coming in today, they don’t have to listen to them too. You’ll be seeing a lot of these the next four months.”

“I’m not sure what will be worse for your baby – listening to the calls we take, or having to put up with your taste in music.”  
“Hey!”

“I’ve heard you and Chimney do karaoke. That poor baby doesn’t stand a chance. What have you got queued up first – Diana Ross or Elton John?”

Maddie was saved from having to respond by her first call of the shift.

“Excuse me, _some of us_ actually have some work to do,” she said, and Josh smirked and slipped away as Maddie adjusted her headset and settled into dispatcher mode.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

*

The first few hours of their shift passed uneventfully, so Hen, Chimney, Buck and Eddie sprawled out in the loft watching _Hocus Pocus_ with coffee and a plate of ghost-shaped cookies that Buck had picked up from the deli along with Eddie’s bagels.

“What’s the creepiest call you’ve ever been to?” Buck asked, from where he lay stretched along the length of one couch.

“Athena, Chim and I went to this call a couple of years ago where a guy was actually _eating someone’s face_ ,” Hen volunteered.

“And not in a sexy way,” Chim added, reaching for a cookie. “In a literal chewing his face off way.”

“Gross. Where was I?”

“It was the night of that full moon. Weren’t you and Bobby helping deliver a yoga studio full of babies then?”

“Oh yeah! I swear that was because of the moon. You don’t get that many woman just going into labor at once without an explanation.”

“It’s called being full term. There’s not actually any _proof_ that more women go into labor because of the moon, Buck.”

“Sure, Dr Wilson. And I’d believe you if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” Buck’s gaze landed on Bobby approaching and sat up. “Cap! You were with me at the yoga studio when all those women went into labor at once. The moon, right?”

“Coincidence, Buck,” Bobby smiled, taking a cookie himself from the plate on the table. “Or perhaps just a really effective yoga class.”

Buck shook his head, unconvinced.

“I’m telling you, the full moon brings out the crazy in people. And it’s a Full Blue Moon tonight, on _Halloween_. Who knows what could happen?”

Chimney noticed Buck’s gaze dart Eddie’s way, even if no one else did. But he covered himself well and directed his next comment his way.

“Just make sure Maddie’s not working the full moon around her due date, Chim.”

Chimney laughed.

“Are you kidding me? She’d be in a room full of people trained at delivering babies over the phone, it’s perfect. I’m actually considering sending Josh to the Lamaze classes so Maddie has a backup birth partner.”

“Hey, Karen just sent me a photo of the boys,” Eddie interrupted, his face lighting up as he tapped at his phone.

“Show me!”

Buck scooted across the couch and leaned in so that he could see the photo, his body touching Eddie’s from shoulder to thigh. Any closer and Buck would be sitting in his lap, but Eddie was so used to him invading his personal space that he barely registered it, just angled the phone towards him. They were always just a step or two beyond the platonic line, but if either one noticed, they never did anything to alter their behaviour. In fact, ever since they’d nearly lost Eddie down the well, Buck seemed to find _more_ excuses to touch him, to reassure himself that his best friend was still there beside him. Chim and Hen shared a knowing look and went to join them, leaning over the back of the couch.

“Now that is one happy pirate,” Chim commented. Christopher was grinning at the camera, standing in between Black Panther Harry and Skull Trooper Denny, each of them holding overflowing buckets of candy up to the camera.

“He’s adorable,” Buck beamed proudly, staring at the screen. Eddie shot him a fond smile that Buck didn’t notice, but Hen pulled a face like she might be about to vomit on their heads. Chim elbowed her and fought to keep his face straight.

“Denny’s a big Fortnite fan, then?” Buck asked Hen, completely oblivious to their silent exchange.

“Oh yeah. Karen and I know so much about Husks and Heroes that I’m seriously considering limiting his internet time, for our own sanity.”

“You and Maddie taking notes for when it’s Baby Buckley-Han’s turn?” Eddie asked Chim, who laughed.

“Fun fact, Maddie hates dressing up on Halloween, so I think it’ll be up to me to pass on that fine American tradition.”

“Yeah, I’m the fun Buckley in the family,” Buck said, biting off the head of another ghost cookie.

“Being on the same wavelength as a nine year-old doesn’t make you more fun.”

“Maybe it’s time you two did something productive with your shift,” Eddie interrupted, his voice switching automatically into Dad mode.

“Who died and made you Captain?”

Bobby coughed pointedly.

“That would be me. But as I have no intention of going anywhere just yet, you can _all_ make yourselves useful and check your turnout gear over for wear and tear. With the way some of you,” he directed a look at Buck, “throw yourselves around on calls, you need to make sure they’re still serviceable. Anyone need replacements, make a list and bring it to me. I’ll be in my office.”

With only a few mutinous grumbles, the 118 drained their coffees and headed for the stairs.

“Oh, and just so you know,” Bobby called after them, “They’re running rolling blackouts throughout the city tonight."

“On _Halloween_? Who signed that off?” Hen asked incredulously.

“I don’t think the California Independent System Operator believes in Halloween superstitions,” Bobby said. “Our shift should be over by then so hopefully we won’t be affected, but if it hits when we’re here someone’s going to need to fire up the generators, so make sure you have a torch on you in case you get caught out.”

“A blackout on Halloween,” Chim said, shaking his head as they descended the stairs. “That’s just asking for trouble.”

*

“OK, you were right, my daily allocation of two coffees is definitely not enough,” Maddie said when Josh next passed her two hours later.

“I’m going to try really hard not to be smug,” he replied, slowing to a stop next to her. “Come on then, what have you had so far?”

“My personal favourite? The man decapitated by his garage door, that turned out to be a headless dummy and some handprints in fake blood.”

Josh shook his head.

“I’m telling you, Halloween is like a year’s worth of full moons in one day.”

He moved away to another station and Maddie shot her empty coffee mug a rueful stare as her next call flashed up on the screen.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?...I’m sorry, the _what_ parade?”

*

Lake Hollywood Park sat right beneath the Hollywood sign. Usually dog walkers and tourists vied for space beneath the huge white letters on the hill, but today the park was a sea of pugs. Most were off-lead, yapping joyfully as they zig-zagged across the grass, and every single one sported some form of fancy dress. Above the entrance to the park stretched a large banner, with the words: _‘Welcome to the Pug-O-Ween Parade!’_ in green and purple glitter, sandwiched between the images of a pug and a pumpkin.

“What _is_ this?” Eddie asked in a low voice, as four pugs dressed like the velociraptors from _Jurassic World_ raced past them.

“I think it’s like a pug beauty pageant,” Buck replied.

“And I thought child beauty pageants were terrifying,” Chim whispered. “Stick close together. Show no sign of weakness.”

“They’re pugs, Chim. They’re not aggressive,” Hen laughed.

“I’m not talking about the dogs. I’ve heard about these pug moms. Stick together. It’s like a horror movie, the first one to split off from the pack is always the first one to die.”

Hen rolled her eyes and led their advance through the park, stepping carefully over pugs dressed as sushi and comic book characters and Ghostbusters. Standing in the midst of the chaos with a world-weary expression was Sergeant Athena Grant. Relief flared in her eyes at the sight of Bobby and Hen approaching.

“The Pug-O-Ween Parade is a Halloween tradition,” a woman was explaining as they came within earshot. The pug in her arms was wearing a pumpkin costume. “Pug owners come together every Halloween in a different park across the city for a celebration of all things Pug. We have apple bobbing for dogs and owners, a photo booth, and prizes for best dressed dog, best dressed group, and best dressed human/pug combo.”

“What happened?” Bobby asked as he drew level with his wife.

“Seems there was a dispute over the best dressed dog competition, and it got ugly.” Athena pointed out two women in handcuffs, both dressed as Alice in Wonderland and flanked by a pug dressed as the White Rabbit, each assigned to a different police officer. “We’ve got a handful of minor injuries, and a lot of dogs running wild in a park that’s strictly on leash only.”

Bobby nodded.

“Hen, Chim, triage the injuries. Buck, Eddie...you know what to do.”

Buck and Eddie exchanged a look and sighed.

*

“There’s just something creepy about dressing your dog up,” Hen murmured to Chimney, as they navigated the mass of pugs searching for injured owners. Buck and Eddie were chasing down each dog up and painstakingly reuniting them with their owners, and Hen had never been more grateful to be a paramedic as well as a firefighter so she was spared that job.

“So you won’t be entering Paisley next year?” Chim grinned.  
“Thankfully I don’t think Paisley qualifies for Pug-O-Ween. And Denny would never speak to me again if I did.”

They stopped beside a woman sprawled on the ground beside a BMX cradling her arm.

“Hey there, my name’s Hen. What’s your name?”

“Sydney.”

“Hey Sydney. Can you tell me where it hurts?”

“My elbow. I landed on it, and now it doesn’t feel right. Where’s Dexter?”

“This him?” Chim asked, pointing to a pug close by, draped in a blanket and snuffling around a dropped hot dog.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Sydney said with relief, rolling into a sitting position with Hen’s help.

“Is this a genuine Kuwahara?” Chimney asked, pointing at the bike, and Hen stared at him like was speaking another language. “What? That’s the make of bike that was used in E.T.” He turned to Sydney as Hen continued her examination. “I’m guessing you and Dexter here are E.T. and Elliott. That’s cool.”

“It is, and we are,” Sydney said, looking pleased that someone had guessed their costume. “I thought it would stand out a bit. But I kinda wish I hadn’t now. When the fight broke out the pugs all scattered and I got thrown off trying to avoid them.” She winced as Hen probed her arm. “At least Dexter’s OK.”

“OK, Sydney, your elbow is dislocated,” Hen said calmly. “We’ll have to get you to the emergency room to get it checked over – is there anyone here we can leave Dexter and your bike with for a few hours?”

Chim answered for her.

“Hen, I’m sure Dexter knows how to _phone home_ by himself.”

Sydney laughed and Hen groaned.

“I’m sorry about him, Sydney.”

“I’m not. I needed the distraction – I’m not good with bones pointing in the wrong direction.”

*

“Where’s Eddie?” Buck asked about twenty minutes later, having returned the last remaining pug, dressed as Yoda, to his owner, dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi. Bobby nodded over his shoulder, and a grin split Buck’s face as he reached for his phone.

Several pug moms had pounced while Eddie was helping patch up a dog bite. Now they surrounded him like vultures, eyes roving over his biceps, tanned skin and crisp uniform. Eddie posed for one photo op after another with gritted teeth, looking utterly out of his depth.

“I feel like I’m watching lionesses circling a wildebeest in a nature documentary,” Hen said, watching with a mixture of fascination and disgust.

“Well we’d better go and save our wildebeest before they get their teeth into him,” Bobby said. “We’ve got another call.”

“On it,” Buck said, starting towards Eddie.

“I don’t think so,” Hen said, grabbing his arm. “If you go in as well you’ll send them into a frenzy. Send the expert.”

She nodded towards Athena, who had just dispatched the pug owners at the centre of the brawl into separate squad cars.

“What’s that?”

“We need someone to save Eddie from the predatory pug moms,” Chim said, pointing across the park. Athena followed his hand and narrowed her eyes.

“Leave it with me.”

She marched into the fray, and Eddie’s face lit up with relief.

“ _Athena_.”

“Ladies,” Athena said loudly, “Firefighter Diaz has a call to get to, so if you could wrap up your photo shoot it would be appreciated.”  
There was a low chorus of groans, but the crowd parted obediently.

“Firefighter Diaz, are you single?” one of the pug moms called as Eddie made his bid for freedom, and he shot Athena a panicked look.

“Afraid not, ladies,” she answered for him. “His boyfriend’s watching us right now.”

Eddie’s head snapped round at Athena, who ignored him and raised her voice so the 118 could hear her.

“Buck, can you give us a wave please?”

Buck looked confused, but obliged with a bemused smile and a wave. The pug moms muttered.

“Typical.”

“It’s always the good-looking ones.”

“They do make a cute couple though.”

Eddie flushed, and Athena caught him by the elbow and steered him away.

“You are _welcome_ ,” she murmured.

“ _Am_ I? What did you tell them that for?”

“You needed rescuing. Your knight in shining armour wasn’t allowed to do it, so someone had to step up.”

“My knight in...Buck and I aren’t a couple, Athena. We’re just...friends.”

It sounded lame, even to him, and Athena’s trademark eyebrow arch told him she wasn’t buying it.

“Oh Eddie, you do know it’s an offence to lie to a police officer, don’t you? ’Cause I don’t know many ‘just friends’ who have keys to each other’s homes, spend almost every waking hour together and co-parent a child.” She paused. “I’ve known Buck for four years. Trust me, he’s the very best of himself when he’s with you.” She patted Eddie’s arm and strode on without giving him a chance to reply.

As they rejoined the others Eddie’s eyes snapped straight to Buck, still with his phone out.

“Delete that off your phone or I’m giving them your number.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Buck said confidently, pocketing his phone before Eddie could lunge for it. “Especially because you know I’d just use it to set us up on a double date with them.”

“Ah, mutually assured destruction. Well played, Buckley,” Chim said, zipping up his medical bag and removing his latex gloves.

“Who said he meant they’d be dating the pug moms?” Hen muttered, balling Chim’s gloves up with hers and tossing them into the trash. Chim laughed, and Buck pulled a face at them both and climbed back onto the truck.

“I think I’ve seen that same face on Maddie when she knows she’s lost an argument,” Chim called after him.

“Well then you’ll know that Buckleys hold grudges, Chim. Better watch your back.”

“I’m quaking in my boots, Buckaroo!”

“Sounds like you have a long shift ahead of you,” Athena said to Bobby as they parted at the truck doors. “What’s next?”

Bobby consulted the clipboard he kept at the front of the truck, with a brief note of the calls they’d already taken that day and the next one they had lined up.

“A nearly-severed finger at a pumpkin carving competition.”

“Nasty. I’ve got shoplifters in horror movie masks.” Athena rolled her eyes. “Same calls, different year.”

Bobby smiled fondly at her.

“Want to stop by for family dinner later, around six?”

“I’ll certainly need something to look forward to today.”

“OK, take care and see you later.”

“I’ll be there.”

Bobby leaned down and kissed his wife briefly. He’d gotten into the habit since Athena returned to work, and now he did it every time they were on a call together. It was a talisman to keep her safe, and the closest he could come to promising that they would return home to each other every night.

“Did you say we’re off to a severed finger?” Hen asked Bobby, as she and Chim passed them on the way back to the ambulance.

“ _Almost_ severed. We should probably step on it if we want to make sure it stays that way.”

“How is it only midday?” Chim asked, shaking his head as he climbed back into the ambulance.

“Halloween,” Athena replied darkly.

*

Several hours later, Athena was recounting the rest of her shift over dinner.

“The highlight of my day was probably the concerned member of the public who called 9-1-1 after seeing a person driven away in the back of a brown sedan with the words ‘Help Me’ written on the window. After we chased calls to it all over the city, I finally tracked it down in the car park of a Trader Joe’s, only to find that it was a dummy and a window sticker. Driver issued with strong words of advice regarding appropriate Halloween decorations.” She took a sip of water. “How did that severed finger turn out?”

Hen pulled a face at Athena as she handed over a basket of bread.

“If the competition had been for most realistic horror movie decoration he’d have won it hands down.”

“Well, one and a half hands down,” Chimney added, waving his hands for emphasis, and Hen groaned.

“We had to transport him with the pumpkin to the ER,” she said.

“The tendons got tangled in the stringy part of the pumpkin,” Buck chipped in enthusiastically, and Athena pulled a disgusted face at him.

“So, is this living up to your expectations of a Blue Full Moon Halloween?” Eddie asked.

“Honestly I thought it would be a little busier, especially when we got the call to that fire in Riverside.”

“I didn’t hear that one come out,” Athena frowned.

“That’s because it wasn’t a fire,” Eddie explained. “It was a very convincing _Pirates of the Caribbean_ -themed display, complete with smoke, a wind machine and some fire-coloured cloth.”

“I wish Chris could have seen it,” Buck said. “He’d have loved it.”

“Well you took enough pictures,” Chimney reminded him. “He’ll feel like he was there by the time he’s seen those.”

Buck had been collecting photos of the best Halloween displays they’d seen to show Christopher when they picked him up at the end of shift. As he scrolled back through his camera roll, his thumb paused over the video Eddie’s abuela took of them that morning. He’d been so caught up in the shift that he’d forgotten about it until now. His stomach flipped at the thumbnail of Eddie standing so close behind him, his hands gently covering Buck’s eyes. Buck could almost still feel Eddie’s breath against his neck…

_DRRRIIIING!_

Buck jumped as the bell sounded for their next call, summoning him back to reality. As the crew cleared away their plates and prepared to deploy, Athena stood too, suddenly alert, as her radio crackled into life.

“Dispatch, show 727 L30 responding. Request all available RA units to the scene, and any black and whites you have to spare.”

Her eyes met hers as they all clattered down the stairs together, boots ringing against the metal.

“I think you’re headed to the same place I am,” Athena said, her face set in a grim line. “I’ll see you there.” She kissed Bobby briefly and strode between the trucks out to her patrol car.

“What are we off to, Cap?” Chim asked.

“The Helloween Funfair at Whittier Narrows. They’ve had a ride collapse, multiple casualties anticipated. Make sure that ambulance is fully stocked before you go anywhere.”

Hen and Chim exchanged grim looks, and climbed onto the ambulance without another word.

“Buck, Eddie, make sure the truck’s got all our gear!” Bobby called to them. “It’s going to be a long night.”


	2. The Helloween Funfair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 118’s Halloween shift takes a darker turn, as they respond to a ride collapse at a funfair.

The full moon hung eerily low over the Helloween Funfair as the 118 pulled up on scene. Blue lights flashed everywhere, illuminating shell-shocked fairgoers scattered in groups throughout the park. The Ferris wheel hung empty, the garish, overly cheerful carnival music at odds with the sound of sirens. In the distance, they could see a morgue tent being pitched close to the field medical tent.

“Which ride collapsed, Cap?” Buck asked, as they strode towards the tents with as many medical supplies and tools as they could carry.

“The Ghost Train.”

“That’s tragically ironic,” Chim muttered.

As they approached the ride at the centre of the chaos, a familiar figure strode towards them, wearing the Incident Commander vest that told them he’d been first on scene. Captain Ronnie Cooper of the 136.

“Captain Cooper,” Bobby greeted him.

“Captain Nash. Glad you guys are working tonight. We need all hands on deck.”

“Absolutely, where do you need us?”

Captain Cooper turned and gestured at the ride behind him.

“We’re still trying to evacuate the Ghost Train, but no one’s sure how many people were on the ride when it collapsed. The ride’s not structurally sound, it could go at any minute. We’re sending crews inside in pairs. Keep going ’til you find a casualty, bring them back outside, next pair goes in. If a casualty can’t be moved, stay with them, radio for medical assistance. We also have firefighters clearing rubble at the base of the ride, where’s it causing an obstruction for crews going in.”

Captain Cooper glanced back over his shoulder and shouted.

“Bosko! You free?”

Striding out of the rubble, axe swinging in one hand, was Lena Bosko. She tossed her plait back and balanced the axe on her shoulder.

“Yes Cap.”

“Help balance out numbers on the 118 for the next few hours.”

“Good to see you, Lena,” Bobby said, and the others nodded their greetings. At the back of the group, Eddie looked down uncomfortably. He’d apologised for biting her head off in the aftermath of fight club and she’d accepted it, but she’d kept her distance ever since. Perhaps Bobby took this into account as he gave his orders.

“OK, here’s what we’re going to do. Hen, Chim, treat the casualties as they’re brought out. Buck, you and Lena clear this rubble. Eddie, you’re with me. We’re going inside.”

“You’re going in, Cap?” Buck asked uncertainly, as Eddie headed back to the truck for their gear. Bobby nodded.

“Captain Cooper is running point, we’re just here to assist. We all know you enjoy swinging an axe about, so you should stay out here with Lena and clear a pathway for us. I need Eddie with me as a medic.”

“Sure,” Buck covered hurriedly. “I wasn’t asking about Eddie, Cap, I was asking about you.”

“Well I appreciate the concern, Buck.” Bobby looked at him with a piercing expression oddly reminiscent of Athena, that said he wasn’t fooled one bit. “But I’ll be fine, and so will Eddie.”

Bobby and Eddie kitted up with helmets and head torches, tools and medical supplies, and ducked into the Ghost Train through a partially cleared entryway, under a sign that read _‘Enter if you dare’_. Buck’s eyes followed Eddie inside, and he felt that uncomfortable tug in his chest that always happened when they were apart or out of sight on calls. He had been concerned about Bobby going in, that wasn’t a lie, but it also didn’t feel right to be out here when Eddie was in there without him.

“So, you and Captain America still haven’t got it together then?”

Lena had stopped swinging her axe at the fallen rubble and was watching him knowingly.

“Huh?” Buck said, and kicked himself for not thinking of a more intelligent response.

“I thought when you guys made up last Halloween after your little lawsuit thing that it would only be a matter of time. I mean, that fight at the grocery store...when he stormed up to you I wasn’t sure if he was going to punch you or kiss you.”

Buck shook his head, and took a swing at some rubble with his own axe, kicking the pieces aside as they broke.

“It’s not like that. Eddie’s my best friend, I won’t ruin that. Besides, Eddie’s straight as an arrow.”

Lena snorted.

“ _Please_ , he’s so far gone for you he wouldn’t see Miss Universe if she danced naked in front of him.”

Buck laughed, despite himself, and swung the axe again.

“Look, I just...I’ve watched a lot of people I love walk away. My sister, my ex-girlfriend...I’m not ready to lose Eddie too.”

Buck was deliberately avoiding Lena’s gaze, so he didn’t see it soften. She walked over and helped him lift some fallen tombstones away from the path.

“Trust me, Buck,” she said, in a gentler tone. “It was true a year ago, and it’s just as true now. Eddie’s crazy about you. He got so mad at you over the lawsuit because he was hurting. He felt like you’d abandoned him. The only reason he called me to bail him out of jail was because he couldn’t call you. I learned a lot about Eddie Diaz while I was crashing at your station, but I could have given a recital about you. Even when he wasn’t talking about you I could tell he was thinking about you.”

Lena straightened up and her voice returned to its normal tone. “I don’t know how you do it though. Our friendship was very much a one-way street.”

“He gets a bit up in his own head sometimes,” Buck admitted, standing too. “He needs someone to bring him out of himself.”

Lena frowned at him.

“You’re a good guy, Buck. You give Eddie a lot. What does he give you?”

Buck smiled.

“Him. And Christopher. He gives me the family I’ve always wanted.”

“Maybe you should tell him that.”

Buck met her gaze, and Lena saw a wild flash of hope flicker across his face.

“Please help me.”

A quiet voice called to them, and Buck and Lena spun around, throwing rubble aside as they searched for the source. A man lay trapped beneath a piece of track. It had him firmly pinned across the chest, and his breath came in short and sharp gasps. His light brown skin gleamed with a sheen of sweat.

“Hen, Chim!” Buck yelled, and he and Lena tried to find a way to remove the rubble pinning him down. Hen and Chim raced to join them.

“Hey buddy, what’s your name?” Chim asked, kneeling beside him.

“Alejandro.”

“OK, you sit tight, Alejandro. We’re going to get you out of here.”

*

The firefighters who’d been into the Ghost Train before Bobby and Eddie had drawn lines on the walls in chalk to point the way, so their biggest initial challenge was climbing over fallen debris.

“Makes it kinda hard to look for injured people when there’s all these body parts lying around...” Eddie said, moving a rubber hand to one side. He glanced up as the sound of screams rang out, suddenly tense, and then relaxed. “Not to mention the horror movie soundtrack.”

“And the fake blood,” Bobby added, as he moved a skeleton aside and tilted his head torch into the space behind it. A faint whirring sound and groans echoed back to them.

“Chainsaw noises,” Eddied said. “They really go all out on these rides, don’t they?”

Bobby frowned, listening carefully.

“I don’t think those noises are recordings, Eddie.”

They exchanged a look and hurried on.

*

“We’ve got another one under here!”

Shouts from close by drew Buck and Lena’s attention, and they ran to help, revealing a young couple. Both were deathly pale and soaked in blood. The male drifted in and out of consciousness. Another pair started working on him, and Buck and Lena knelt either side of the woman.

“Kelly,” the man called weakly to her. “Kelly, you have to wake up.”

“Kelly, can you hear me?” Buck said loudly. “My name’s Evan, can you open your eyes for me?”

Lena catalogued her injuries as Buck listened for a breath, staring at Kelly’s chest and willing it to rise and fall.

“She’s covered in stab wounds,” Lena said quietly. “These aren’t injuries from the ride.”

Buck gripped Kelly’s wrist, searching for a pulse.

“I can’t feel a heartbeat.”

“Start CPR. I’ll get an AED.”

Lena sprinted for the medical tent and Buck lay Kelly out on her back, talking to her frantically as he started chest compressions. By the time Lena came back, with Athena hot on her heels, Buck’s stomach felt leaden. She had to be alive. She had to be.

Lena fired up the defibrillator.

“ _Analysing heart rhythm. Shock advised.”_

They cut open Kelly’s clothes, cleared metals from her body and wiped the blood away as best they could, then pressed the shock button.

“ _Analysing heart rhythm. Start CPR.”_

Buck wasn’t sure how long he kept up the cycle. The rest of the world tuned out, as he counted compressions and listened for instructions from the AED. But he felt the balance between life and death slip, knew that he was fighting a losing battle. And eventually Athena’s hand landed on his shoulder.

“She’s gone, Buck. You did all you could.”

*

Buck was still kneeling beside Kelly’s body when Bobby and Eddie jogged into view, supporting a man between them with a chainsaw embedded in his thigh. They settled him on the grass and Eddie started strapping his leg up with a tourniquet. Paramedics soon joined them, and the man was lifted onto a gurney and wheeled away. All the most serious injuries were being bluelighted straight to the nearest trauma hospital.

Straightening up, Eddie wiped his bloodstained hands and looked around for Buck. When he saw him slumped on the ground, he started towards him, concern etched across his face.

“Eddie!”

Bobby called to him before he’d gone two steps. Buck looked up at Eddie’s name, and Bobby nodded back towards the Ghost Train.

“You ready to go back in?”

Eddie nodded, but his eyes didn’t leave Buck’s, a question on his face. Buck seemed to draw strength from Eddie’s calm, steady gaze and nodded at him, an unspoken conversation passing between them, and rose slowly to his feet. Eddie nodded back and jogged after Bobby. Lena sidled over to Hen and Chimney.

“Are you two still running that pool?”

“We are,” Hen said. “You want in?”

Lena nodded.

“Twenty bucks says it’ll happen by the end of the night.”

“Ooh, she’s confident!” Chim said. “I like it. You have yourself a deal, Bosko.” They shook on it.

*

“Athena, what happened to Kelly?” Buck asked. “Who did that to her?”

Athena heard the anguish in Buck’s voice as he followed her around the medical tent, and reminded herself that, for all the terrible things he’d seen, that he wasn’t quite as immune to it yet as she was.  
“I spoke to her boyfriend, Dean, just before he got bluelighted to hospital. He says what the other witnesses did. Apparently a clown attacked them. The boyfriend thinks it was Kelly’s ex-boyfriend. He worked for a carnival, but Dean didn’t know which one.” Athena grimaced before she delivered the final bad news to Buck. “Kelly was pregnant. The baby died with her. The stab wounds are consistent with someone who knew that she was pregnant. And Dean is in a critical condition.”

Even after thirty years, some days Athena was floored by the evil she witnessed in the world.

*

On their second sweep of the Ghost Train, Bobby and Eddie didn’t find any live victims. Finally they reached the top of the ride, emerging onto a rickety footbridge of fake bones.

“I think we’ve checked everywhere. I’m calling it as cleared,” Bobby said, grabbing his radio to tell Captain Cooper.

Below them, Athena was directing people away from Kelly’s body, covered with a sheet while they waited for a crime scene tent. Buck returned from helping some of the walking wounded to the medical tent, and he stopped dead as his eyes locked onto a clown standing among the bystanders. Eddie saw Buck’s whole body tense. Then he saw why.

The clown’s hands and costume were coated with blood that Eddie knew from here was real. He was also carrying a huge, bloody knife, looking straight at Buck.

Buck’s gaze darted to Athena. Before he could call to her, the clown turned and started walking briskly away from the group.

“Hey! Hey you, stop!”

The clown took off without looking back, and Buck bolted after him.

“Buck!”

Eddie’s voice seemed magnified, until he realised he wasn’t the only one who had shouted. On the ground below them, Athena removed her gun from its holster and shouted into her radio.

“727 L30, requesting backup at the Helloween Funfair. I’ve got a male suspect dressed as a clown, armed with a knife, making off from the scene of a stabbing. Firefighter Buckley is in pursuit, and so am I.”

She ran after Buck.

*

“727 L30, that’s received. Be careful out there.”

Maddie managed to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice, to keep the veneer of professionalism intact as she scrambled police units to back Athena up. But her breathing came short and sharp as she remembered Athena’s last call for backup nearly six months ago. And now Buck was chasing after an armed suspect, with no weapons, no protective gear. He was much faster than Athena. What if he caught up with the suspect first and he turned on him? Maddie put a hand to her mouth, staring at the map on the screen with her heart in her throat.

“You OK?”

Josh had pulled up a chair beside her and touched her arm. Maddie nodded, blinking hard.

“Why is it always Buck?” she whispered.

*

Why was it always Buck? Eddie scanned the partially collapsed Ghost Train for the most stable thing to cling onto.

“Structure’s clear, right?” he checked with Bobby.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

And Eddie swung himself over the rickety bridge of bones and started scaling the side of the collapsed ride back to the ground. He didn’t look back to see if Bobby was following him, but he wasn’t surprised when his captain thudded to the ground just behind him.

“Oh good, we’re all going after the knife-wielding clown then,” Chim called after them, as Eddie and Bobby thundered past him in pursuit of Buck and Athena.

“Athena’s got this,” Hen told him. “We’re more useful here.”

Buck had a head start on them all, but luckily the clown costume stood out enough to keep them in sight. As Bobby and Eddie drew level with Athena, she cursed. The clown had swerved sideways into another ride. The Hall of Mirrors.

“I’m going to try and head them off at the other end,” Athena shouted. “Stay on this entrance in case they come out. They do, you shout to me. No unnecessary heroics.” She directed a pointed stare at Eddie, and ran for the other end of the ride.

“I’m going in,” Bobby said, as soon as Athena was out of earshot. “Stay out here.”

“You’re what? Cap, you shouldn’t go in alone.”

“Well I’m sure as hell not letting you go charging in by yourself. One of us needs to stay on this entrance. If they get out before I do, Athena may need all the help she can get catching this guy. You’re faster than I am.”

Eddie opened his mouth to protest, but Bobby cut him off, shaking his head.

“This is not up for discussion. Stay here. Man the door. I’ll bring Buck home.”

“Copy that.”

Bobby jogged into the Hall of Mirrors and Eddie backed up a couple of steps, scanning for any sign of a blood-soaked clown and a firefighter with a death wish.

*

Bobby hadn’t been inside a Hall of Mirrors for years. These weren’t your average fun house mirrors, bending and distorting a person’s shape. This was a maze, where multiple Bobbys stared back at him from neon backlit mirrors. He started forward, but his arm hit a mirror wall. Everything glowed around him in an 80s-inspired hallucination. Somewhere ahead he heard movement, pounding footsteps and shouting. A flash of white, an arm covered in tattoo script.

“Buck?” Bobby called, half-expecting his voice to echo back to him. No one answered, but up ahead there was a smashing sound of glass. Bobby picked up the pace, jogging as quickly as he could manage, both hands out in front to try and navigate the neon tunnels. Eventually he found signs of the struggle he’d heard. Two mirrors were shattered, tiny fragments sparkling up at him from the ground. And alongside them, a blood-stained knife and a glinting metal badge. Buck’s LAFD badge. Bobby stooped to pick it up, and his heart sank as he saw blood on it.

Finally, Bobby stumbled out of the Hall of Mirrors into the night air. Up ahead were the flashing blue lights of a patrol car speeding towards them, and illuminated in their glare were two figures struggling on the ground, and his wife charging towards them, gun drawn. Bobby sprinted the final distance, but he wasn’t alone. Eddie had seen the commotion, and he overtook Bobby and closed the final distance first.

Athena stood over the clown, gun trained on him.

“It’s OK, Buck. I got this.”

Buck slowly stood as Bobby and Eddie reached them. Eddie charged straight into Buck, yanking him away from the clown and pulling him to one side. His eyes roved across Buck’s face, before he started patting him down for any bleeds or other injuries that Buck might not have noticed with adrenaline pounding through his system.

Bobby stood close behind Athena, providing his wife some cover as she holstered her gun and drew her handcuffs. As soon as the cuffs clicked into place, Bobby chanced a glance at Buck and Eddie.

Buck seemed to have come out of the chase with just a few minor cuts. From what Bobby could tell, as the blue lights lit up Buck’s face intermittently, they were tiny cuts from the smashed glass in the Hall of Mirrors. Eddie must have come to the same conclusion. He skimmed his fingers lightly across Buck’s face, eyes darting back and forth. Finally, he took half a step back, looked Buck over once more, and pulled him into a rough, fierce hug.

Bobby moved forward and put a light hand on Athena’s shoulder.

“The knife’s in the Hall of Mirrors,” he said. Athena directed one officer back to find it, and handed the clown over to a second officer, who marched him towards the patrol car. Athena and Bobby turned to Buck.

“I hope you know that was one of the dumbest things you’ve ever done?” Athena asked.

“Don’t be mad, Athena. He killed Kelly. I couldn’t let him get away.”

“I know, Buck. As always, your heart’s in the right place. Just a shame about your brain.” Athena squeezed his arm. “I’m gonna need a statement from you later.”

“Sure.”

Buck turned to Bobby warily. Having seen the furious, terrified expression on Eddie’s face, Bobby knew he was already facing an ear chewing, and decided to let Buck off easy.

“How did you know it was him?” he asked instead.

“Witnesses said that Kelly was attacked by a clown just before the ride collapsed. He was covered in blood and carrying a knife. And when he saw me looking at him and looking for Athena, he ran.” Buck shrugged. “Innocent people don’t run, right?”

“Good instincts. Maybe leave it to the professionals next time?” Bobby said, clapping a hand to Buck’s shoulder. “Oh, and I think this is yours.” He handed over the LAFD badge. “It was next to the knife in the Hall of Mirrors. I’m hoping that’s not your blood on it?”

“Thanks, Cap.” Buck stooped to wipe the badge on the grass and remove the blood. “Must have come off when I caught up to him. I tackled him against one of the mirrors, hoped it might knock him out, but he was strong. At least he dropped the knife.”

“And what if he’d had a gun?” Eddie said, his voice tight. “You already knew he had a weapon, what if you’d rounded a corner into a chest full of bullets?”

Buck looked chastened.

“I didn’t think, Eddie,” he said quietly.

“You never do!”

Bobby took this as his cue, and slipped away after Athena.

“He killed a woman and her _baby_ , Eddie.”

“And he could have killed _you_ , Buck!” Eddie shouted. “It’s up to the police to catch him, not you. They have guns. You don’t even have kevlar. What would you have done if he’d stabbed you and left you to bleed out?”

“Someone would have caught up with us eventually.”

“You can’t rely on that. What if we didn’t know where you’d gone? You can’t keep treating your life like it’s worthless. Just think about who you’d be leaving behind if something happened to you.” Eddie paused and rubbed a hand roughly across his face. “We’ve nearly lost you too many times, Buck. Chris and I need you here, alive.”

“I guess I never thought anyone would really miss me.”

“Well that’s one of the dumbest things you’ve ever said,” Eddie said. “Because my kid’s already lost his mom. It would break his heart to lose you too.”

It was a low blow, but Buck pushed aside the guilt and shook his head.

“I’d never want to leave you or Chris. But you’d be fine, Eddie. Life moves on, right?”

“Don’t you get it, Buck?” Eddie said fiercely, gripping his arms. “It’s not living if it’s not with you!”

Buck’s stomach swooped like he’d just stepped off a ledge, and his jaw fell slightly open. For a moment, they both stood frozen in place. Then Buck reclaimed his voice.

“I’m not going anywhere, Eddie. I’d walk a thousand miles to get back to you and Christopher.”

Eddie stared at Buck like he was an oasis in the desert. But before either could say another word, Bobby called to them all.

“Time to go! Everybody wrap it up!”

Buck and Eddie seemed to realise they were no longer alone, and strode back to Bobby without another word, keeping a careful distance between each other.

“Dammit!” Lena hissed to Hen and Chimney, as they wheeled Alejandro, free from the rubble with only a few suspected broken ribs, to an ambulance. “I was sure that would be the moment.”

“You regretting pledging those twenty bucks yet?” Chim asked.

“Hell no, I’m still confident. I’m just not sure how we’ll know something’s happened if we haven’t seen it.”

“Trust me,” Hen told her. “We’ll know.”

“It won’t be long,” Alejandro said, and they all looked at him. “They’ll be living together by Christmas.” He smiled at Chim. “Oh, and congratulations. Your baby girl is going to bring you so much joy.”

Chim gawped as they loaded him into the ambulance.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” Hen laughed, as she shut the ambulance doors. Chim turned to look at her with a strange expression.

“Hen, I didn’t tell him about Maddie. I don’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl. But we’ve got a list of names we like for a boy and a girl. And one of the girl’s names is Joy.”

Hen’s eyes widened, and she stared after Alejandro.

*

They had the fire house to themselves on their return, as the next shift was already out on a call. Chim’s phone was already dialling as he jumped out of the ambulance.

“Hey Maddie. You didn’t take any calls from a psychic today, did you?”

“I took 375 calls today, Chim, you might have to be more specific.”

“This patient on a call...he told me the sex of our baby. And their name.”  
“What?”

“I’m serious, Maddie, he knew stuff that I hadn’t told him. I’ll tell you when I get home.”

Maddie laughed.

“Why not? I could do with a bedtime story. How much longer do you think you’ll be?”

“Not long. I’ll text when I’m leaving. Love you.”

“You too. And tell my brother that I’d better see him tomorrow after what he’s put me through tonight. And he’d better bring donuts.”

“Copy that.”

Buck had taken refuge around the side of their truck. He needed a moment to try and scrub the memory of Kelly dying at his feet from his mind. Catching her ex-boyfriend, knowing that Athena would bring him to justice for what he’d done, didn’t help to balance out the grief he felt at the loss of two innocent lives.

Buck took his phone out and scrolled to find abuela’s video from that morning. He could do with some innocent joy, courtesy of Christopher, round about now. He couldn’t wait to see him when they got back to Hen’s, to remember the goodness out there in the world.

The video started with Eddie covering Buck’s eyes. It was clear, even at this angle, how close they stood, with barely an inch between their bodies. Buck’s stomach lurched. Eddie was staring at Buck with an expression he’d never seen before. The way he bent his head forward to murmur in Buck’s ear...it looked almost like he’d been about to kiss him.

Buck stared as the rest of the video played, trying to understand what he’d just seen. Had he wanted to see that look on Eddie’s face so badly that he imagined it?

Eddie was his partner. They worked together seamlessly, like they were reading each other’s minds. Buck had never felt so close to anyone in his whole life, and he’d almost thrown that away with the lawsuit. He wasn’t about to do it again.

So what if his heart leapt in his chest whenever Eddie entered a room? Or if Buck’s skin tingled whenever they brushed against each other? Or whether he always liked to start and end the day with a text to Eddie, and struggled to get to sleep at night if he didn’t? So what if they had jokes that no one else got? Or that they always sat a little closer to each other than was strictly necessary? Or that, sometimes, when they were sat talking in Buck’s kitchen over a beer and their eyes met, Buck felt something crackle in the air. A charged chemistry that he’d never let himself acknowledge before. He always put it down to alcohol and his overactive imagination. But this video, and what Eddie said at the funfair...maybe, all this time, he had been feeling that same tension too. Buck took a deep breath and tried to push down the wild hope surging through his blood.

“What you looking at?”

Buck jumped, dropping his phone with a clatter. Eddie’s gaze followed it to the ground, then jumped to Buck’s face, realisation dawning. Buck stooped to retrieve his phone.

“Ah. Abuela’s video.”

“Yeah.”

“I can explain,” Eddie started.

And then the lights went out. The rolling blackout had caught up with them.

“Somebody go switch the generator on!” Bobby called from upstairs.

Buck ignored him. He was fairly sure Eddie had too, because he didn’t hear footsteps moving away. Striking out for where he’d last seen Eddie, Buck stepped forward.

“You were about to explain that look on your face in that video,” he said in a low voice.

“And what look was that?” Eddie asked. Buck altered his course towards his voice.

“You know what look it was, Eddie. Did you mean it?”

He overshot. Rather than stopping short of Eddie, Buck ran straight into him. Eddie’s hands shot out and grabbed Buck’s arms, holding him close, and Buck felt that crackle of electricity at every point of contact between them. He hadn’t imagined it.

“Trick or treat?” Eddie’s voice murmured in Buck’s ear. His breath was hot against Buck’s skin, making him shiver.

“Treat,” Buck whispered, heart thudding in his chest.

He heard Eddie take a breath, and then his lips were on Buck’s, and all coherent thoughts were driven from his mind.

From the first moment he’d seen him tugging an LAFD t-shirt down over rippling muscles and a narrow waist, Buck had known just how dangerously attractive Eddie Diaz was. And yes, his mind might have wandered sometimes. During the tiredness-induced madness that descended at 3AM on a 24 hour shift, when his eyes met Eddie’s across the loft or in the back of the truck. In that limbo state between sleeping and waking while he lay in bed. When the water cascaded over him in the shower and his mind conjured an image of Eddie beside him...

But in all those vague daydreams, Buck had never allowed himself to imagine a world where anything might actually happen. Or to imagine how good it might feel.

This was nothing like he’d imagined. It was infinitely better.

There was no room for hesitation or uncertainty in the dark. Eddie kissed Buck with an urgency born out of the fear of losing him that night. They stumbled into the side of the fire truck, hands roaming, tongues dancing, as naturally as if they had done this hundreds of times before. One of Buck’s hands went to back of Eddie’s neck, pulling him closer. Eddie dragged his hands through Buck’s hair, pressing his body flush against him. Buck felt like he might combust on the spot from their combined heat. He pulled his head back to gasp for air, and Eddie dropped his lips to Buck’s throat. Buck arched his chest into Eddie’s at the feeling of tongue and teeth against the sensitive skin at the hollow of his neck.

“I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” Eddie growled against Buck’s skin, his voice uneven.

“I’ve been wanting you to do that for about two years,” Buck gasped, and he crashed his lips into Eddie’s again. Between soft moans and ragged breaths, they mapped every inch of skin they could reach as they took each other apart. And, as they kissed, Buck realised that this had been inevitable since the day they met. Every day since had brought them step by step to this moment, tangled up in each other’s embrace in the darkness.

And then the lights went back on. And a voice sounded very close by.

“Buck? You hiding out back here?”

Buck and Eddie leapt apart as Hen rounded the corner of the truck and stopped dead. For a moment, the three of them just stared at each other. Both Buck and Eddie were breathing hard. Eddie’s shirt was rumpled, his eyes dark and stormy. Buck’s hair was tousled, his lips red and swollen.

“Athena’s waiting for you in Bobby’s office,” Hen said finally to Buck. “She needs to take your statement from the carnival.”

“Right,” Buck said, fighting to regain his composure. He ran a hand through his hair and smoothed the collar of his shirt, avoiding Hen’s gaze. “I’ll go right up, thanks.”

He threw a glance at Eddie, hesitated like he was about to say something, then thought better of it and strode away. Hen turned slowly to face Eddie.

“So,” Eddie said. “Is there any chance of you not telling Chimney what just happened?”

“I’ll be honest, the odds are not in your favour.”

Eddie nodded, his eyes still following Buck out of sight.

“Thought not.”

His expression was dazed, and Hen found herself at a loss for words.

“I’m just gonna...go get changed...”

Hen pointed vaguely behind her, and route marched to the generator room, where she intercepted Chimney on his way back and dragged him into a storage cupboard, all without stopping to give an explanation or even draw breath.

“Umm, you OK, Hen?” Chim asked, as she shut the door behind them. Hen took a deep breath, shook her head, and then covered her mouth with her arm to muffle the peals of laughter erupting deep within from her chest.

“What the hell happened?” Chim asked, concerned. “Did you inhale too much oxygen again or something?”

“I just walked in on...oh boy...”

“Wow, finish _that_ sentence quickly.”

  
“Buck and Eddie!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“ _Where?_ ”

“Making out against the side of the truck while the power was off!”

“Whoa!” Chim peered over her shoulder towards the cupboard door. “Where are they now?”

“Buck’s gone to give his statement to Athena. And Eddie looks like he just took a blow to the head.”

“Buck must have done a good job.”

“Chim, don’t, my ribs can’t take any more laughing.”

“You need to get it out of your system before you share a lift home with them.”

“Oh my God. I’d forgotten that. This is how I’m going to die. Their sexual tension is actually going to kill me.”

*

Buck thought he held it together pretty well while he gave Athena his statement. She and Bobby both gave him the eyebrows when he walked in for his dishevelled appearance, but he pretended not to notice.

“Umm, am I good to go now?” he asked, once he’d signed the completed statement.

“Yep, shift’s done,” Bobby said. “I sent the others home a while ago.”

“Oh, right.”

Buck pushed down his disappointment. Even though he’d driven Hen and Eddie to work, he couldn’t expect either of them to wait around for him when they could have easily caught an Uber and split the fare. But with a day off tomorrow, he may not even see Eddie until they were back in on Monday. He couldn’t wait that long.

Buck said goodbye to Bobby and Athena and slipped from the office, reaching for his phone and trying to compose the right words for a casual text to Eddie. He was so lost in thought he was most of the way down the stairs before he realised he wasn’t alone.

“Does that return carpool offer still stand?”

Eddie leant against the side of the nearest fire truck, smouldering up at him. Buck’s stomach swooped.

“You didn’t think I was just going to leave after that?” he asked, seeing the surprise on Buck’s face. Buck shrugged.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Things got kind of...heavy.”

“You told me anything could happen on a Full Blue Moon. I should have listened to you.”

Eddie pushed off from the side of the truck and walked slowly towards him.

“I wondered if you wanted to crash at mine tonight,” he said. “I know Chris would love it if you stayed, and I thought we could...talk.”

“Should I be worried?” Buck asked.

“I’m not.”

“Look, Eddie. I’m fairly sure you know how I feel by now. Apparently I’m not exactly subtle.”

Buck looked away, down at his feet and then back up at Eddie. “I’m crazy about you. Have been for a while. Maybe even since the first day we met. And maybe that should scare me. But it doesn’t. I feel like this day was always coming, I just didn’t know it until now. And I would do anything for you and Chris. You’re the family I’ve been searching for my whole life. But if any of this makes you uncomfortable, Eddie, we can go back...”

Eddie shook his head and Buck trailed off.

“This morning I got a lecture from abuela about how good you were for me, and that we were practically in a relationship already. Then Athena told those crazy dog moms at the park that you were my boyfriend.”

Buck’s eyes widened.

“ _That’s_ what that was about?”

Eddie nodded, grinning, and took another step closer.

“This morning I almost snapped and kissed you, _on video,_ in front of my grandmother and my son. And then I watched you chase after a murderer with a knife, unarmed and unprotected, and I can’t remember the last time I was so scared.”

A shadow passed over Eddie’s face.

“I know that good men die every day, Buck, and I couldn’t bear to think that it might be you. When I knew you were safe, the rush was like nothing I’ve ever felt. And I knew for sure.”

Eddie stepped right up against Buck and held his gaze.

“Maybe we could go back to just being friends after tonight. But I don’t want to, Buck. I want to go home with you every night, and wake up with you every morning. I want to keep raising my son with you. And who knows what the future holds? But I know I want you in mine.”

Buck grinned.

“You might live to regret that.”

Eddie shook his head.

“Never.”

Buck’s smile widened and he bent his head to Eddie’s for a slow kiss. When they broke apart it was only enough to breathe, to rest their foreheads lightly against each other.

“Now let’s go get _our_ kid,” Eddie said softly, and Buck’s face lit up in a dazzling smile.

*

The amber street lights illuminated the front of the Jeep, drawing Hen’s gaze to the gap between the driver and passenger seats, and she smiled.

Buck and Eddie’s interlocked hands rested in the space between them. She didn’t know how she’d missed it until that moment. They’d done it without any announcement or ceremony, so at ease that it was as if this was something they’d done a hundred times before. But as she caught sight of Buck smiling from ear to ear in the interior mirror, and saw Eddie’s face in the Jeep’s wing mirror, looking at peace for the first time since she’d met him, she knew it was the first. It was like two chaotic, burning stars had collided and formed one supernova, almost too bright to look at.

Hen pulled out her phone, judged the quality of the lighting in the car to be too poor for her camera to capture, and settled for typing instead.

> Hen Wilson to Lena Bosko: You won the pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> I really thought I'd be able to write this as a one shot, but clearly my brain doesn't understand the concept of a short story...I could have written so much more, but thought I ought to rein it in and focus on Buck and Eddie. Hopefully it did them justice!
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed Part 1! 
> 
> Apparently there is actually a full blue moon this Halloween, so I thought that would be fun to include.
> 
> I tried really hard to sound American, but I'm sure some British-sounding stuff (and spellings) slipped through. Apologies too for any glaring errors relating to either LA or Fortnite - my knowledge of both these things comes from the internet...
> 
> Part 2, which takes a slightly darker turn, coming soon...


End file.
